Arkane Studios - The Mirror Men @ The Verge

June 28th, 2012, 04:21

The Verge has a fantastic article titled The Mirror Men of Arkane that examines the formative times of Raf Colantonio and Harvey Smith, their similarities and how their lives eventually intersected. This is a great read, both as a games article and a human interest story:

It is 1993. It is a time of great change.
Bill Clinton is the President of the United States. A bomb explodes in a parking garage at the World Trade Center. Intel introduces the new Pentium processors. Computer scientists at CERN invent the World Wide Web.Jurassic Park is in theaters. Nirvana is on the radio.Doom is on computers.
Meanwhile, a company called Origin Systems is making a game called System Shock. Like Doom, it will change the way games are made forever, but in a different way and for different reasons.
Where Doom is brash, bold, massively popular, and a harbinger of the blockbuster multiplayer games to come, System Shock is introspective, narratively rich, and technologically innovative. Aggressively single-player. It will spawn a lineage of direct and spiritual sequels that are still revered among gamers today, and will inspire game makers for decades to come.
Two of those game makers are Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith.
Both men will fall in love with a game called Ultima Underworld. Both men will assume it was made by Origin Systems (it wasn't). Both men will decide to break into games so that they make one just like it.
Over the next 20 years, their resumes will include stints working with companies like EA, Valve, Origin, Ion Storm, 2K Games, Activision, Ubisoft, Looking Glass, and Midway. Separately, they will help build games like System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Thief, Dark Messiah, Relentless and Arx Fatalis.

Twenty years later, along with a team of like-minded folks, they will build a game called Dishonored.
This is their story. It begins in 1993.

I agree. This article has value beyond typical hyperbole gaming journalism we see 24/7. Its truly a miracle that these "games greater than life" ever get published. I had to shake my head in disbelief once or twice when I read about the bs publishers had given to these talented developers. Situation seems quite similar to what Brian Fargo had to endure for example when he tried to pitch the concept of Wasteland. I'm glad that kickstarter allowed him to fullfill his dream.

Still I try very hard not to see it as a black-white situation. I mean it makes sense for the publisher to ask worth for his dollar. Doesn't it? Making games is no charity after all. Still often I feel that there are just many clueless and incompetent people working in the publishing side. These people who don't have the slightest idea about what makes a great video game. People who aren't gamers or don't care about games as an art form or even as a fun entertaiment. But what do i know, I'm just a gamer

But like this story proves. If you firmly belive in your dream it can come true at some point of your life and a bit of luck doesn't hurt either .

I can't wait to play dishonered after reading that story. No matter if the game is a success or not, its sure going to be an intresting experience.

i've always prefered system shock 2 to the original, but have always said that's probably biased since i played the 2nd when it came out and then went to play the original a few years afterwards. nothing i have ever read has ever so much made me desire to go back and play the original again as this.

— —-when we figure out how to build guillotines for corporations the new revolution will have begun—-